Chapter 1173: Another Encounter With Shui Dongliu! (1/2)
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The seven days passed by in a flash. After Meng Hao concluded his sermon outside the log cabin on the Holy Island, the surrounding cultivators, beasts, birds, and even the vegetation and fish seemed to be completely absorbed in the process of being enlightened, even though he had already stopped talking.
Meng Hao slowly rose to his feet and looked around at all the beings surrounding him. After a moment of thought, he murmured, “Since we're connected by destiny, I might as well help all of you one more time.”
He waved his right hand, causing the Immortal qi and spiritual energy in the area to churn. It then poured into the soil of the Holy Island, nourishing it, bolstering it for all eternity.
Now it was really and truly a Holy Land. For years to come, practicing cultivation for a single day there would be like cultivating for a year elsewhere. Even the land beyond the shores of the lake was affected. The effect wasn't as strong, but it still made the entire area incredibly suitable for cultivation.
When he finished, Meng Hao looked back at the log cabin, then turned and vanished into thin air. The door closed, leaving behind the two statues in their red robes, which would remain sealed there forever, smiling and looking into each other's eyes.
From that day forth, the Holy Island was open for all to visit. However... the log cabin was a place that could not be entered by anyone whose cultivation base was lower than Meng Hao’s.
Meng Hao left the island and went to Blood Prince Gorge in the Blood Demon Sect, which was now a restricted area that no one was allowed to enter. If the island was a Holy Land for the Southern Domain, then Blood Prince Gorge was a Holy Land for the Blood Demon Sect.
Patriarch Blood Demon had long since passed away into meditation. Meng Hao stood outside of his cave, clasped hands and bowed deeply.
He stayed in Blood Prince Gorge for seven days, although no one in the Blood Demon Sect was aware of that fact, ensuring that the seven days passed very quietly.
During that time, he removed the black bat from his bag of holding. He performed a soulsearch, but even with the current level of his cultivation base, he was still unable to uncover any useful information. All he knew was that the black bat was consumed with a powerful desire to possess him.
In addition, he was clearly able to detect the aura... of a renegade spirit. He even called the parrot out to check.
After a bit of curious investigation, the parrot told Meng Hao that the black bat... definitely had the soul of a renegade spirit somewhere in its bloodline. That information confirmed Meng Hao’s suspicions that the renegade spirit bat the mastiff had possessed in the Windswept Realm might not have been complete. After a bit of thought, he gave the black bat to the mastiff, who was clearly ravenous.
The mastiff howled and began to absorb it.
Seven days later, Meng Hao left Blood Prince Gorge. He also... imbued the place with Immortal qi, making it a extremely suitable place for cultivation, similar to the Holy Island. He also sealed the log cabin in Blood Prince Gorge.
He wasn’t sure when he might be able to return, and deep in his heart, he hoped... that when he returned with Xu Qing, everything would be the way he left it.
After leaving the Blood Demon Sect, he went to the Ancient Temple of Doom, where he waved his hand to create a statue. It was a statue... of the mastiff.
The mastiff was a blood spirit which had originated with the Blood Immortal. If that Blood Immortal were in Meng Hao’s presence right now, she wouldn’t be a match for him at all. However, Meng Hao felt it was still appropriate for him to help the mastiff create this statue, as a way of connecting it to its original ancestor.
After seeing the statue of itself, the mastiff looked around at the Ancient Temple of Doom with a complicated expression.
Eventually, Meng Hao left for the Rebirth Cave, taking the mastiff with him.
Throughout the years that Meng Hao had been away from the Rebirth Cave, cultivators continued to travel there to attempt rebirth. Unfortunately, none had succeeded, as was evidenced by the fact that there were more bones there than the last time he had been here. He proceeded in toward the depths of the cave until he found the same wall he had stood in front of the last time he had been here. He studied it, his eyes flickering.
Never for all eternity would he forget the door he had seen in this location last time, just as he had been about to leave. In that moment, it had almost seemed like an illusion which instantly faded away. However, Meng Hao was sure of what he had seen. [1. He saw the door in the wall in chapter 886]
Because of the level of his cultivation base at that time, he had been unable to get an answer to the puzzle of that door. Now he was back, standing in front of that same wall, his eyes gleaming.
“I wonder if I’ll be able to unearth any more clues, given the current level of my cultivation base....” He unleashed his cultivation base, causing scintillating azure light to shine out. His Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm was more refined than before, and the fusion with his third Nirvana Fruit was now more complete.
As the power of his cultivation base spread out, he waved his finger in the direction of the wall, causing the azure light to spill onto the wall, illuminating it completely.
He stared at the wall as it began to transform. It seemed to wriggle and writhe, and gradually, an archaic and ancient door appeared.
However, the door seemed unstable, as if it were shifting between being illusory and corporeal. It appeared to be exuding a sinister air, and Meng Hao was even able to detect a bit of wild energy that seemed to seep into him.
It was as if someone were erupting with rage, screaming words that he didn’t understand. It sounded like the murmurings of all living things crying out in his ears. With a cold harrumph, he said, “Illusions and lies!”
He reached out and pushed down onto the door, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. However, the door didn’t even budge.